Mecklenburg

The Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1701-1918) was a duchy located in northern Germany with its capital at Schwerin. Ruled by the House of Mecklenburg, it was divided between Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Mecklenburg-Strelitz, but the two houses operated together.

History
Mecklenburg was created when Friedrich I of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Adolf Friedrich I of Mecklenburg-Strelitz divided the Duchy of Mecklenburg (1379-1701) between themselves. It is located in northern Germany and borders Jutland, a disputed region between Germany and Denmark. Mecklenburg was a Protestant state and was made up of German peoples, with its capital at Schwerin.

Mecklenburg was a poor and weak state at the start of the Napoleonic Wars in 1805, and was occupied by Prussia in late 1805 to prevent it from being occupied by the French Empire. However, it was occupied by France a year later during the Fourth Coalition and in 1808 joined the Confederation of the Rhine. In 1813 Mecklenburg was the first German state to betray Emperor Napoleon, joining the Sixth Coalition. In 1815 Mecklenburg joined the newly-formed German Confederation, and supported Prussia in their wars with Denmark (1864), Austria (1866), and France (1870). They joined the German Empire as a member state until the end of the empire in 1918, upon which they joined the Weimar Republic, and their monarchy ended.